


Drinking, Ranking Old People, and Being Embarrassed by your Dad

by Pretentious_Procrastinator



Series: ATLA Meets Camp Nano July 2020 [2]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Gen, POV Katara (Avatar)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-08
Updated: 2020-07-08
Packaged: 2021-03-04 23:42:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,481
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25144873
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pretentious_Procrastinator/pseuds/Pretentious_Procrastinator
Summary: Silliness and tipsiness led them to the game they were currently playing - trying to figure out if the members of the White Lotus were attractive to other old people. Given the disgusted looks on everyone’s faces, Katara wasn’t entirely surewhythey were playing it, but they carried on. Maybe they all missed the danger, a little bit, and talking about a group of very dangerous old people whilst there was a chance they could overhear felt risky enough to push through.In which Hakoda joins a conversation that Katara and Sokka would prefer that he really not.
Relationships: Bato/Hakoda (background), Bato/Hakoda/Piandao (implied)
Series: ATLA Meets Camp Nano July 2020 [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1821493
Comments: 8
Kudos: 171





	Drinking, Ranking Old People, and Being Embarrassed by your Dad

It had been a few weeks since the war had ended, officially. Unofficially of course, there was so much work still to be done to bring generations of hostilities to a complete peace. However, it was enough that the gaang had decided they needed a night off. The various adults in their life – and that was strange in itself, that there _were_ adults around all the time – agreed, and had formed a party of their own at the other side of the small courtyard in the centre of the palace they’d chosen for the evening. It wasn’t the one with the turtleducks Zuko had shown them, but there was a pond all the same and Katara had been using some of its water to absently play a game of push and pull with Aang for most of the night. 

Being outside, bedding arranged in piles around a campfire, felt like the old days again. Or, not so old days, in the case of Zuko, although the few weeks he’d stayed with them had felt so much longer than that. They were all buoyed by the feeling, and in the case of the three oldest, stolen rice wine. 

That had been a bone of contention amongst them. Katara pointed out that Zuko was fire lord, he could just _ask_ for some wine. Toph had said it wasn’t fair that Sokka, Suki, and Zuko could have some and the rest of them couldn’t, though Katara noticed she hadn’t tried to take any off them. (Katara had though, just a few sips. It was kind of gross but she didn’t want to feel left out.) Aang didn’t really care; he didn’t want any anyway. Sokka and Zuko had been in the middle of planning the heist when Suki reappeared with the wine in hand, and if anyone – Toph – had noticed she’d gone in the first place they didn’t say anything. 

Anyway, silliness and tipsiness led them to the game they were currently playing - trying to figure out if the members of the White Lotus were attractive to other old people. Given the disgusted looks on everyone’s faces, Katara wasn’t entirely sure _why_ they were playing it, but they carried on. Maybe they all missed the danger, a little bit, and talking about a group of very dangerous old people whilst there was a chance they could overhear felt risky enough to push through. Suki had just finished up a solid roasting of Jeong Jeong’s hair with Sokka’s input – and Katara had to admit she had some points – that Zuko had firmly been excluded from joining on the grounds of his own past hair choices. The momentary gratification on his face when Toph told him _she’d_ always liked the look of his hair was enough to make Katara cackle. She didn’t often admit it, but that joke of Toph’s never got old. 

Scowling now, but she could tell it was fake, Zuko crossed his arms and looked over at the adults.

“Pakku,” he said decisively. 

Katara couldn’t help her instinctive grimace. “He’s…our step grandfather!”

“That technically proves he is attractive to other old people, sugar queen,” Toph said nonchalantly. “Your Gran-Gran wanted a piece of that.”

Katara felt vaguely sick, and looked to Sokka for solidarity. To her relief, he looked just as disturbed, but was also staring mulishly at Pakku. “He’s also still a dick.”

“Sokka!” Her defence of her waterbending master was instinctive. 

“What?! Just because he pulled his head out of his ass, he was still horrible to you.” 

Katara huffed, but secretly she was glad Sokka still held a bit of a grudge against Pakku for how he’d initially treated her. She’d never admit it, but Sokka’s protective instincts, even when unnecessary, were nice sometimes. And Pakku _was_ a bit of dick, new granddad or not. 

It was her turn next, apparently, and she wasn’t above putting Sokka in an uncomfortable position. “Piandao.”

Aang answered first. “I guess he’s one of the youngest members, so it should be easier to evaluate? He seems nice.”

Toph was next, unusually hesitant. “He does have a nice voice? And his stance is good. Oh! He can fight without using his eyes, unlike you losers. I guess I’d like those things? If I were old,” she added hurriedly. 

“I’d say he’s good looking.” Suki’s answer had Sokka turning an alarming shade of red that Katara was noting happily. She couldn’t wait to hear his answer. 

“Oh yeah, he’s hot.” Unfortunately, another voice chimed in before Sokka could open his mouth. 

Katara whipped round to stare at the voice’s source accusingly, but it was Sokka who spoke.

“Dad!”

Dad raised his hands defensively, but the smirk on his face ruined his attempt at innocence. “What? You shouldn’t have been speaking so loudly if you didn’t want other people to join in.”

The whole group looked at the rest of the adults, panicked. 

“Don’t worry, I was on my way back from inside. The others can’t hear you.”

“Wha…that’s beside the point, Dad!” Sokka spluttered. “Why would you say that?”

“You wanted an old person’s opinion, right? Well I’m not that old but I’m closer to Piandao’s age than I am to yours. And I happen to think he’s very handsome.”

An awkward silence fell over the group. Katara felt her cheeks turn as red as Sokka’s; theoretically she knew Dad found people attractive – his recent engagement to Bato helped prove that – but she didn’t want to _think_ about it. Dad smiled victoriously, having successfully embarrassed both her and Sokka. 

Walking away, he left with one parting shot. “Enjoy the rest of your game!”

The quiet didn’t last long, because soon Toph started cackling wildly. Aang was the first to join her, glancing almost guiltily between her and Sokka as he did, but soon the others started laughing too. Sokka just stared after their Dad, a betrayed look on his face. 

“Oh, he got you good!”

Katara let herself smile. She might not have missed her Dad’s particular brand of humour – she got way too much of it from Sokka anyway – but she had missed him. It was nice to laugh, to watch him walk back to Bato’s side and lean against him, Bato wrapping an arm around him automatically even as he remained engaged in his conversation with… _huh_. Master Piandao. She saw her Dad smiling at something one of the other two men said, leaning forwards towards Piandao. 

“I think your dad has a type.”

Sokka’s head spun round. “Suki! How could you say that? Bato is _right there_.” The arm not round Suki – pretty much the same pose as Bato and their Dad, Katara noticed – gestured expansively towards the trio of men. 

“Exactly.” Suki’s arched eyebrow was impressive. “Now I don’t know either Bato or Piandao very well but they’re both tall-” she started ticking off a list against her fingers “-seem pretty serious at first but probably aren’t, clever, and very skilled. Oh, and they’ve both helped his kids at some point!”

“…Suki’s got a point.” Zuko’s voice was still hesitant, as it normally was when talking about adults that weren’t his uncle. 

Sokka’s face looked like a wounded otterpenguin chick. “I should’ve expected this kind of betrayal from the Firelord. But you, Suki?”

“I mean Zuko is technically my boss now.” 

“You!” Sokka turned towards Zuko dramatically, one finger pointed accusingly. “You turned her against me!”

Zuko shrugged. “Pretty sure it’s the other way round.” 

He used his empty cup to scoop up water from the pond and threw it in a great arc at Sokka. Suki was caught in the splash too but didn’t seem to mind, too busy holding the back of Sokka’s tunic away from his neck. She winked at Katara and Katara let go of the ball of ice that she’d made. Suki dived out of the way just as Sokka shrieked and started flailing around, trying to get the ice out from his tunic. 

“Water fight!” Aang cheered, jumping up, and Katara suddenly had to focus on the water coming towards her from all sides. She got lost in it, forgetting their earlier game, but when she looked over later her dad, Bato, and Master Piandao were all looking over at them. Her dad was smiling widely, looking like he’d be heckling if he were any closer, and Bato’s familiar smile lightened up his face. Master Piandao wasn’t smiling exactly, not with his mouth, but Katara could tell he was anyway. 

They looked like they were having fun, and the knowledge that all the people there had come through the war enough to be enjoying the evening was such a relief. For once, Katara didn’t have to be the adult, not when there were actual adults around. She grinned. She had friends to soak, and she was the Avatar’s waterbending master. They had no chance.

**Author's Note:**

> Not sure where this really came from I just jotted it down and liked it! (that's a lie, it mostly came from a desire to have Hakoda say to Sokka and Katara's faces that he finds Piandao hot.) The opinions on old people in this fic are not that of the author. RIP to Katara but I'm (and my past 14 y/o self) different.
> 
> Please ignore the heinous title, I literally never think about titles until I'm trying to press post and realise why it's not working. 
> 
> As always, you can find me at my [tumblr](https://thewintermusketeer.tumblr.com/)


End file.
